Monday, June 30, 2008

Last week was a nice, restful week! Soccer and baseball were cancelled three days so there were a few evenings where I didn't have to rush supper and run out the door 45 minutes after getting home from work! June has gone by in the blink of an eye and two of my boys have finished school and graded! We celebrated with Pizza on Friday so no cooking that day! (a reward for me too!) So, here is this weeks menu plan:

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Here is a new online magazine for blogger's and those who like to read blogs. It was just launched so the content is still growing. Looks like it will highlight blogs and have lots of helpful hints for blogging. Since I'm fairly new to blogging, I will find this helpful and maybe you will too! Check it out!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Wednesday nights we have a Bible study at our home. Jim does a fair amount of cleaning so when I get home, I'm not overwhelmed with the mess. I get dinner on the table and rush to get anything done that didn't get done, like the bathroom! Since yesterday was the last day of school, the boys are home all day, and I was anticipating a huge disaster waiting for me. I decided to write out a list of a few things I wanted the boys to do so that (in the upstairs at least) the mess is kept under control. I don't feel like I asked too much of them and they seemed alright with it (poor daddy is left to be the enforcer of my ideas!). The list looked something like this:

-Tidy up movies and Wii games

-Put shoes in closet and hang up coats, sweaters and ball caps

-Clean up papers, pens, crayons, scissors from the floor

-Make beds

-Put any clothes on the floor in laundry baskets

-Put all dishes in the sink or dishwasher.

Those are the current things that need to be done as I looked around this morning. I typically have some of these things as weekly chores but seeing they are home all day now, I thought they could pitch in daily. I may try to do this each morning, give them a new list based on what I see needs to be done. I hope this will "work for me" Time will tell!

Stir remaining ingredients together, mixing well. Spoon over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 10-12hrs or on high for 5-6hrs.

I've never tried this recipe yet but plan to this week.

It became summer (officially) on saturday (or sunday, depending on the calendar!) and wow was it nice! It has been so cool and cloudy here but the weekend was so beautiful. I am someone who really responds to the weather. If it is dark and cloudy, I am lethargic and a bit on the grumpy side. If it is sunny, all of a sudden I feel like cleaning, being active and am in such a good mood! Needless to say, winters feel VERY long for me! How about you? Do you find that your moods reflect the weather too? Any tricks that work for you in getting through the long winters? (so very long here in Atlantic Canada!)

Monday, June 23, 2008

We had a busy weekend. The fair finally arrived here, and it is such a lame fair! Seriously, there are maybe a dozen rides (if that!) and it is way overpriced. The boys enjoyed it anyway, but I forgot to bring my camera!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Bend it Like Beckham?

Here is Joseph on his first day of soccer. He was quite pleased to be playing this year instead of watching on the sidelines! He kept stopping to give us a thumbs up or make a funny face like this one! All these sports the boys are in keep us hopping but it is worth it to see them enjoying them selves and keeping active. Unfortunately, this first day of soccer was so cold, we had to leave after 20mins. He was violently shivering in the ocean wind and the older two were staying warm in the car. On the plus side, the wind kept the bugs at bay, unlike the following practices where we are a human smorgasbord for the black flies!

I have been taking Jessica's advice and preparing some of the meals the night before so when I get home at 5, supper is pretty much ready and we eat fast and rush to be at the field at 6! It has worked well (made lasagna last night and it is in the slow cooker now, we'll see how that turns out. I've never tried lasagna in the slow cooker before!)The boys wanted to help me make the Potato Leek Soup so I designated them the "Official Stirers" (It was such an important title, it deserved a brand new made up word!) Between making some of the meals the night before and letting the boys help in the process, this has been a success and yes, it works for me! (you were probably wondering when I'd fit that in!)

And finally, here is a picture of the boys enjoying the finally spring-like weather! (even though it is only a few days from summer, still need sweaters here!)

Less than a week of school left, then their dad has to get creative in keeping them occupied all summer! Wonder what you will do with your kids home all summer? Click here to find lots of ideas over at Rocks in my Dryer, many other blogging mom's link up too so there are literally hundreds of ideas! I'll be checking it out and more Works For Me Wednesday!

Monday, June 16, 2008

Last weeks meal plan went well. Big hits with the kids were the Potato Leek Soup (I blended it and they actually liked it, they are soup-haters!) and the Carrot Burgers (next time I'll puree the carrots). Here is what this week looks like:

You'll notice a lot of slow cooker recipes this summer. The boys have sports every day (mon-fri) at 6 and I'm off work at 5 so this is the easiest way for me to ensure a hot meal is eaten before we head off to the field! My Sunday evenings are open again since our children's program at church is on hiatus for the summer so I added it back into the weekly plan. Check outThe Organizer Junkie for more meal plans and recipes!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

What's for Breakfast?Breakfast (or as Andrew would say, brefkist) is a pretty simple affair at our house. The boys eat cereal every morning. They never seem to tire of it. Once in awhile someone will have toast but cereal is the favourite and the quickest! I rarely make a big breakfast on the weekends (I really should, but on sat. we all wake up at different times) but once and a while it is nice to all sit down for a special morning meal. I found a few yummy recipes at Wondertime. They take a bit more work but they sure sound good, and I would only do it occasionally anyway. You can find the recipes here. I really want to try the Honey French Toast! How about you, what is breakfast time like at your house?

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Potato-Leek SoupHere is the recipe for the Potato Leek Soup. Actually I lost the recipe so I had to ask my mother in law for it. You know how some recipes are: a bit of this and a bit of that, not always kept as a written recipe, but here is the closest I can get:

So you cut up the leek and onion and saute them in margine until tender then add chicken broth. Then dice and add potatoes and garlic, salt and pepper according to taste. There are two ways to go with it after the potatoes are soft. You can serve it as is, nice and chunky, or you can puree it in the blender using some milk. I have had it both ways and it is very good either way. It is nice and thick as a puree and hides the floating green things (leeks) from the kids! It is such a simple recipe but very tasty! You can add anything you like that you think will enhance it!

My Personality?I saw a personality test being done on a few blogs and thought I'd give it a try. You can find the test here.It was interesting! I'm not sure I totally agree with my personality profile but there are some aspects that I do agree with. You can find my personality profile here, if you know me, give it a read and let me know what you think? Is it accurate to some degree? Anyone who is interested, take test yourself and let me know your personality in the comments, and if you think it was accurate at describing you! Curious minds (okay, my mind) wants to know!Oh and 1 more thing, check out Shannonsposttoday over atRocks in my Dryerabout computer mother boards, even she can make computer geek babble funny!

Monday, June 09, 2008

I tried all the new recipes last week except for the Cod Fishcakes. They were all good but the best was the slowcooker meatloaf (link to recipe in last monday's post)! It was so good, the kids loved it and I loved that it was done in the slowcooker. I spent the whole day gardening and sure didn't feel like cooking a big meal so I was happy I had it done! Okay, this week will be difficult. I made my menu plan on saturday. On sunday I got 3 phone calls about the boy's sports that are starting. Turns out, between the 3 boys, that there will be a practice or game every day from Monday to Friday! I work until 5 on those days and the practices start at 6! What have we gotten ourselves into!! I will have to start cooking the weeks meals on the weekend and have Jim heat them up to be ready at 5. That will take organization (that I don't really have) and add more the already full day of errands I must do on sat since I work all week (or Jim will have to start doing some cooking!!). It will be hectic! Sundays we are at the church for about 7hrs during the day (worship practice, service, kid's program) so Sat. is my only day and I don't like to shop on Sundays if I can help it. I will go ahead and post this menu for now and see what happens!!

Sunday, June 08, 2008

We're You Surprised?Of course you realized that it was my 9yr. old son who did the guest post. He had been asking if he could have a blog. I told him he is a bit young but he could do a post on mine, he was quite happy about that. He really didn't have much to say but I like to encourage his writing. He is an avid reader (who taught himself to read, all by himself, before he even started school) and has lately taken up writing. He has a Superman notebook that he writes poems, jokes and stories in and when he is done, he reads them to his little brothers. Sometimes they help him come up with ideas. I imagine he'll want to do another post or two sometime so if I don't have anything to talk about, I know who can fill in for me! Hope you are all getting some lovely spring weather!

Nathanael's PostHi, I am Nathanael. I am sure you have have read most of or some of my mom's posts but this time I'm doing the post! I will start with our garden, it turned red! We put mulch on it. We are also putting bricks around the edge but not all around yet, we didn't have enough.

The Fair is coming soon where we live, it will be at the Walmart. Do you get a fair where you live? Where does it come? Did it come yet?Here is my joke of the day:Little Monster: "Look Mom, I caught a jogger!"Mom Monster: "I thought I told you to stop bringing home fast food!"

You saw in mom's last post what her blog name is in Japanese, here is my name:Tokachirikatokakuta

Who Could it Be?Later today I will have someone do a guest post on my blog. He is an amazing story teller and writes with such beautiful simplicity, it is almost childlike. I really enjoy reading his many stories of adventure and even his journaling of everyday life. He is pretty famous in this household and I am honoured that he wants to post on my humble little blog. Curious?

This is my new baby nephew, born on Tuesday. He is the spitting image of his big brother. Welcome to the world little guy!

You will probably notice my blog appearance changing a lot! I am trying to figure out a look I like and am experimenting with the HTML. So far I haven't been able to settle on something. There is so much I don't know how to do! I was satisfied with a background I had off a free site but it has stopped working so I am forced to find something else and I don't really like any of the blogger templates nor am I prepared to pay someone to design it, yet! I really want to learn to do it myself so this is my challenge right now, I WILL figure it out!! Stay tuned...

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Check out this giveaway at Rocks In My Dryer! This is only open for U.S. residents (too bad..sniff...no fair!) who have a public blog. Any United States residents who are reading this, I encourage you to check it out. I love the Wow compilation albums! I wish the offer was for Canadians too but I guess I'll just have to buy it! There will be 20 winners chosen and each winner will receive a boxed set of 17 cd's representing the artists featured on WOW Hits 1! That is amazing, 17 cd's plus Wow Hits 1. That is quite the giveaway! Good luck!

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

OUCH!!Yesterday, hubby and I decided to play tennis after work. I have never in my life played tennis before but we thought it might be fun to try and I really need the exercise (since I sit on my butt all day at work). Well...it was interesting! We had a lot of fun but we weren't very good at it. I was happy to have my 6yr. old play ball boy, that saved a lot of running around! Today I am SORE! It is a good sore though, you know? It hurts but I feel like I accomplished something. I hope to be very active this summer, drop some pounds, so there will be a lot more SORE days in my future! I want to pass on a more active lifestyle to my kids too, already they would rather play video games than play outside. That needs to change, or they'll have to fight the same battle I do! Anyway, I got myself a new bike too, so soon I will be riding to work. What do you do to promote activity to your kids? Not difficult when they are toddlers but as they get older and want to sit around and play video games or watch tv? Do you just tell them to go outside and play or are you active with your children? That is where I need to step it up, how about you?

Monday, June 02, 2008

Here it is, Monday Again! May sure flew by fast. The boys are pretty excited that they are in their last month of school before summer holidays. I wish I had the summer off with them! I didn't follow last weeks menu plan all that well, but I'm willing to try again! There will be a few repeats from last week, since we didn't get to them. So here it is, my menu for this week (the red items are links to the recipes):

Lots of new recipes for me (including the ones I didn't try from last week), Hopefully I am able to try them all. They all sound so good. A good friend of mine makes a salad like the green bean salad and I am hoping it tastes like hers, very yummy! Okay, now it is time for lunch and all this menu planning is making me hungry, Thanks for reading!

About Me

Harmony

PEI, Canada

I started this Blog to keep family and friends updated on us. I am married to a wonderful husband and have three beautiful boys and a precious baby girl! I am currently on maternity leave and enjoying being a stay at home again for a little while!

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"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.